No laughing matter: Cheryl Cole is all smiles... but calls grow for X Factor judge to get the sack

Considering the national furore she's caused, Cheryl Cole appears to be rather unconcerned.

The X Factor judge was pictured laughing away as she left the Pride of Britain Awards last night while chatting on her phone.

But Simon Cowell's golden girl may be interested to learn that calls are growing for her to get the boot from her £1.7million job after she refused to vote for either of her acts on Sunday's results show.

Not a care in the world: Cheryl Cole leaves the Pride of Britain Awards last night, seemingly unconcerned that calls are growing for her to lose her X Factor job

Furious viewers have complained in their hundreds to telly watchdog Ofcom - more
than 2,000 to date - with more than 1,500 alone commenting on our
MailOnline story and a Facebook group set up called 'Sack Cheryl Cole
From X Factor'.

Facebook user David Watt raged: 'There should be a
public voting ban which would hit the X factor in their pocket until
Cheryl is sacked for not doing the job she is paid to do.'

He continued: 'If not, we should get all our money back from last weekend, is this another ITV voting scandal?'

Royal approval: Cole ignored the growing storm surrounding her
refusal to judge on Sunday night's X Factor when she met Prince Charles
with fellow judge Dannii Minogue at the even in
London last night

Ex Factor: Treyc, left, was voted off the show by a 2-1 majority after judge Cheryl refused to vote, which saw Katie saved again, pictured here at last night's gala

The row erupted after two of Cheryl's girls - Katie Waissel and Treyc Cohen - found themselves in the bottom two after polling the lowest number of public votes.

However, the Girls Aloud singer refused to save either act - meaning the decision was made as a 2-1 majority verdict from the other judges and Treyc was sent packing - despite unofficial reports that Waissel had amassed just a third of her rival's votes.

Dannii Minogue then opted to save Treyc, while Louis Walsh selected Katie. If Cheryl had chosen Treyc, the girls’ fate would have been decided by the number of telephone votes each had received.

Almost 70% of people polled by Mail Online say that the Girls Aloud singer should be removed from the judging panel.

No vote: The X Factor judge refused to save either Katie Waissel or Treyc Cohen on Sunday night after they were left in the bottom two following the public vote

Of almost 6,890 people polled, 4795 called for Cheryl to be sacked as a
judge, while 2095 thought she should be allowed to remain on the show.

Julie from West Yorkshire summed up many people's feelings when she wrote on the Mail Online comment boards: Cheryl should be disqualified for refusing to vote,she gets highly paid to be a judge on the panel .

'If she doesn't want to vote she needs to leave the show. The show is a farce.'

Anna from London meanwhile wrote: 'I hope she forfeited her £70,000 per week salary for refusing to do her job.'

Boss man: X Factor head honcho Simon Cowell has yet to comment over the calls for Cheryl to be sacked

Linda from Northfleet insisted: 'It's so obvious that it's fixed' and Linda from Dublin outlined her argument to Ofcom, saying: 'Cheryl Cole refused to vote there was no chance of deadlock and no way that the public vote could be used.

'Therefore, there was NEVER a chance that the votes for the bottom two could count.

'In the past where the public votes have been made irrelevant in other shows, the company has been sanctioned and I believe this company and Ms Cole should be fined.'

However, some viewers seemed resigned that Cheryl would remain unchallenged in her judge's seat.

Fix factor: Treyc's dad Fitzgerald Cohen claims his daughter was sent home because the show was rigged

And Tommygunner reasoned: 'It's amusing to read the outrage on here about Cheryl "doing her job."

'Her job is to get viewers tuning into the programme each week and she is a spectacular success at doing so.

The calls come after Treyc Cohen's father blasted X Factor bosses for allowing his daughter to leave the competition, branding it 'a fix'.

Fitzgerald Cohen, 68, has called for an investigation into why her mentor Cheryl Cole was allowed to refuse to vote, meaning Katie Waissel remained in the competition after giving a shaky performance in the sing-off.

His comments came after his daughter came face-to-face with Waissel at the Pride Of Britain Awards last night - after insisting that she'd performed better than her in the sing-off.

Mr Cohen told The Sun: 'It's a fix. It's as simple as that. I have no idea why Treyc is out. She was easily the best singer and should not have lost to Katie.

'Lots of things happen behind the scenes so certain contestants are kept in. The show is not about singing, it's a freak show now.'

An X Factor spokesperson has insisted to MailOnline that it is within the rules for a judge to abstain from voting.

Former judge Sharon Osbourne did the same thing in the first series of the show six years ago.

The spokesman said: 'A judge can abstain from placing a vote. Cheryl
made it clear last night that she would not send anyone home and
therefore abstained from voting.

'Dermot went back to her to clarify
that it was going to go to a majority vote if she did that. Cheryl was
unable to take the vote to deadlock as deadlock requires a valid active
vote.'

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X FACTOR 2010: Cheryl Cole smiles but calls grow for judge to get the sack